A pit bull dog is examined after being taken Wednesday.(Meredith Spencer The Vicksburg Post)

[6/24/04]Nine pit bulls were seized by the Warren County Sheriff’s Department Wednesday, and their owner was charged with training them for participation in illegal fighting.

Jon Brown, 25, 410 Fisher Ferry Road, was arrested at 6 p.m. without incident and charged with one count of the felony.

Investigator Mike Traxler, officials from the District Attorney’s Office and the Vicksburg Warren Humane Society took the dogs, which had visible injuries, into custody at Brown’s house after serving a search warrant at 9:30 a.m.

The penalty for training or transporting a dog for fighting includes a fine of $1,000 up to $5,000 or a prison sentence of up to three years and a minimum of one year in jail. Conducting a dog fight for sport is also a felony in Mississippi.

Brown was held overnight and released on a $5,000 bond this morning after a hearing at Warren County Justice Court.

After the dogs were seized, they were taken to the Vicksburg Animal Hospital to be examined before they were taken, by court order, to a shelter.

Georgia Lynn, president of the humane society, said the dogs were underweight, had scars and infected ears.

“They didn’t look like they were in good shape,” she said.

Some of the dogs were covered with a purple powder used to prevent infection and keep away flies and worms. Injuries included scars on their legs and scrapes on their necks from chains. One dog’s ear was torn in half with a large portion of it missing, and all were infested with ticks and fleas.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said officers also seized three canine treadmills, weight-pull devices and a long pole with a milk jug tethered to the end. He said such a device is used to train dogs to attack. Investigators also seized several pharmaceuticals, including one anti-shock steroid and numerous syringes.

“It is sad that these poor animals who had no control were used for some sort of sick amusement,” said Pace, who described the scene as a “dogfight farm.”

Pace said the investigation had not yet shown whether the dogs had been used in fights or where fights may have been.

The arrest and seizure were parts of a several-week investigation by the Sheriff’s Department that began on a complaint from a citizen. On their initial trip two weeks ago, they found 16 dogs. It was not known what happened to the other seven dogs.

While only one charge was issued on Wednesday, District Attorney Gil Martin said more may be brought because the case remained under investigation.